Thursday, June 23, 2011

My Mother-in-Law has a garden full of roses, so she thoughtfully started collecting rose petals and drying them for months leading up to my wedding. She would lay them out on cardboard on the spare beds in her house.. and once they were dry enough, she bagged them up for me. I think she also put a rose scented oil on them because they smelt lovely.

A couple of weeks before the wedding, she delivered LOADS of these petals to me. I had no idea what to do with them, how to present them, and how to make them fit with the rest of our look.

Here's what I came up with:

I bagged them up into little white paper bags and stamped them with the stamps from our invitations.

Then I put them into a wooden crate that we had handy. It fit perfectly with the theme after all!

And the result:

The colourful fanfare I love, a hilarious look as Adam cops it in the face, and a dress filled with rose petals for the rest of the night!

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Lots of venues these days don't allow confetti. It makes a mess, it's a hassle to clean up and it stains if it gets wet. In fact, some venues even ban rose petals.

But there is something festive and fun about that explosion of colour and fanfare at the end of a ceremony that rose petals and confetti create. Maybe it is the child in me that remembers running up to shower the bride in colour?

Here are some alternatives if your venue wont allow confetti or rose petals:

"Woo" "Yay" "Hooray" flags

I love the idea of the whole crowd waving these madly as the bride and groom descend down the aisle.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

It seems like forever since I have blogged about Adelaide Rustic Wedding Venues!

There's no excuse for the delay really. I still have quite a few in mind to share. And I've noticed that these posts seem to be some of the most popular ones! So I know there are plenty of Adelaide girls out there still searching for the perfect rustic venues!

Today I'm going to do something a little different and look at some alternative venues that aren't typically wedding venues. And they're also not wineries. Rustic venues in Adelaide so often come in the form of wineries, since that's what we're famous for in SA. These aren't wineries. Nor restaurants.

WOODHOUSE
Owned by Scouts, here is a rustic school-camp style venue that allows your guests to stay overnight. Yay - what could be more fun than a sleepover wedding!?!

You can book this place for 48 hours. Imagine a whole weekend wedding shared with your nearest and dearest!
....Get there on the Friday to set-up and get organised, have dinner and drinks with some close family and friends, and getting ready right there the next day. No need to travel to and from your wedding.

....Have a garden wedding in the pretty grounds.. or in the on-site CHAPEL (!!!) then either move inside to the ballroom for dinner - or set up a marquee for the reception.

....Party the night away and at the end of it all, everyone can just drift on up to bed

... And on the Sunday morning you can share brekkie and re-live the fun from the night before heading off. I think this would be so much fun! And such a relaxed intimate vibe.

It's a 20 acre property on which the owners have created spectacular gardens and an amazing lodge with a rustic, earthy, natural feel. The lodge itself is built from all kinds of antiques and salvaged materials collected over 18 years. Wow.

They offer private garden weddings and receptions. I could imagine a picnic style wedding at this place, overlooking the lake.. or tucked away down behind a little walking trail.

You and your groom could then spend your first night in the lodge. Sweet.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

These details reflect the thought and planning that goes into a wedding. Those little things that not everyone notices on the day, but that the bride and groom (ok, lets be honest.. it's generally just the bride!) puts into the planning. They're little purchases that we've trawled the internet searching for, or the decisions we've worried about, blogged about, posted on forums about - because when we're planning we are focussed on details!

In my case, shoes and socks somehow became a detail that featured heavily in our wedding snaps:

My Shoes.

Bridesmaid Shoes.

Groomsmen Socks.

Romantic Feet.

Pretty Shoes. Orange Argyle Socks.

I never expected so many photos of feet and/or shoes. It certainly wasn't a planned detail. But it became one that stood out. And somehow these photos manage to look exactly like "our wedding".

Don't let anyone scoff and say that details aren't important. I hate it when people insinuate that brides are 'bridezillas' for worrying about Something as little as shoes.. or the perfect shade of orange argyle sock! Really - these are the things that personalise a wedding, and that put that individual stamp on your wedding. And in the end, those unique shoes/veil/vases/bonboniere might end up creating memories, making your wedding look like "your wedding", and featuring in your favourite pics!

Tell me, what details are you obsessing over?
Or what details became a feature, without you even meaning them to?

Thursday, June 9, 2011

I've been MIA again. I know. But over the weekend I headed up to QLD (or was it Northern NSW?) for my friend's Hens Day. I had the best time!!

This friend is getting married in one month (exactly one month today in fact!) in the Cook Islands. I would have loved to attend her wedding, but due to a lack of annual leave and of funds, we had to decline. I am so jealous that I am going to miss out on the sun, fun, romance and awesome party that I know it will be. BUT so it often happens with destination weddings...
The good news is that because I knew I was missing the wedding, I made sure to get up there to celebrate the Hens Day instead!!

It was a ladylike hen's day! Everybody was instructed to dress like "ladies" and we all got a bus to a gorgeous place called House of Gabriel on the Tweed River. It was the sweetest venue where we settled in for delicious High Tea. The food was scrummy, the setting spectacular and the company a blast.

The pretty little House of Gabriel

The starring 'ladies'

Settling in for High Tea - they decorated beautifully for us

The peaceful setting

More High Tea, in full force now

The sun that set in front of us

This Hens Day involved no strippers, no topless waiters, no tackiness. Who needs these when you have great champagne, yummy food and lovely girlfriends?

We played one game, whereby those who broke the rules and were not 'ladylike'enough, had to suffer the consequences and look like men (donning a disgusting old racing jacket and gloves) until they caught someone else breaking the rules! Hilarious. And enough fun without interfering with the day as games so often can.

I will admit the night got decidedly less-ladylike after High Tea was over and the sun went down. But I wont share the photos of that! Let's dwell on the ladylike loveliness instead!

It was a fantastic day. Congrats to my beautiful bestie (MOH and sister of the bride), Kristy, for organising it. And congratulations to the stunning bride-to-be Shelley. I hope the wedding is just as beautiful and just as much fun as the weekend! I know it will be.

About Me

I'm the Rustic Bride. A newlywed reflecting on the last 2 years of planning my wedding: The Rustic Garden Party.
I love weddings, particularly those with a handmade, crafty, rustic feel.. and I want to share some of the things that inspire me.